Star Trek actor dies in car crash

Los Angeles — Anton Yelchin, a charismatic and rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new Star Trek films, has died at the age of 27.

He was killed in a fatal traffic collision early Sunday morning, his publicist, Jennifer Allen confirmed.

Yelchin started small with roles in indie films and various television shows, before breaking out in films like the crime thriller Alpha Dog and the teenage comedy Charlie Bartlett. His biggest role to date has been in the rebooted Star Trek films — the third of which, Star Trek Beyond comes out in July.

Yelchin, an only child, was born in Russia. His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the United States when Yelchin was a baby. Yelchin's family requests privacy at this time.